


A kind stranger

by Questionslovefears (Oncer993)



Category: Agent Carter (TV), Captain America - All Media Types, Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, F/M, Peggy's car breaks down, Steggy - Freeform, Steve stops and helps her
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-01-16
Updated: 2017-01-16
Packaged: 2018-09-17 20:16:33
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,620
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9341477
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Oncer993/pseuds/Questionslovefears
Summary: Peggy is skeptical when Steve stops to help her when her car is stuck on the side of the road. By the end of the night, her worries are put to rest.





	

“No, no, no!” Peggy muttered as the car cut off unexpectedly.

She stared at the dark dashboard, thinking this couldn’t be happening. She couldn’t be stranded out here in the middle of pretty much nowhere.

“Come on you lousy piece of junk,” She whispered as she tried to restart it.

It did nothing. She couldn’t even turn on the flashers to alert other cars. Luckily, no one was behind her.

She popped the hood and got out to inspect the damage which might have gone better if she knew what to look for. She was skilled in a lot of things; however, car repairs weren’t one of them.

She pulled her phone from her front pocket and used the flash light app to shed some light under the hood. Everything _looked_ fine.

She shook her head, dialing Michael’s number. It was his car after all, surely, he could help her.

“It’s Michael, you know what to do.”

“Michael? Answer the bloody phone!” She yelled at his voicemail before hanging up and trying it again.

Nothing.  

Her thumbs tapped the screen furiously as she typed him a heated text.

She shook her head as she went to get back into the car, running a hand over the thin material over her light jacket.

It was cold, surely to get cooler the longer she stayed out here. Darkness surrounded her with only one street lamp barely illuminating the area.

She locked the doors for good measure. At least she could protect herself if it came down to it; she wouldn’t give anyone an advantage though.

She was still new in town. She hardly knew where anything was and with Michael suddenly too busy to pick up the phone, she didn’t know what to do.

How long would it take for a tow truck to get here? How much would it cost?

Not that she could afford whatever the bill would be. She had just started her new job last week.

She let out a small cry of frustration as she leaned her head forward to rest on the steering wheel. Her night was turning to shit.

Bright headlights flashed behind her before the car went around and parked in front of her. She watched carefully, eyes darting towards her purse while she contemplated using her mace or meeting the person with her fist instead.  

A man got out of the truck and walked towards her. She took a deep breath, deciding against the mace.

He looked over the car and then peered inside, eyes landing on her.

She couldn’t see much of the stranger. She could make out his outline fairly well though. He was tall, broad shoulders and was wearing a cap.

“Well the bigger they are, the harder they fall,” She whispered to herself.

He stopped at the driver side and lifted a hand to knock on the window.

She didn’t know why but it made her heart rate speed up. Shaking her head, she manually rolled the window down just enough so they could hear one another.

“Hey, um, is everything alright?” He asked hesitantly.

She narrowed her eyes at him.

“Oh yes, just peachy. I like to sit on the side of the road for fun.” She replied sarcastically.

He chuckled nervously as he rubbed the back of his neck.

“Sorry. Do you need a jump? Gas?”

“I don’t know. I—it just stopped suddenly as I was driving. I'm pretty sure it didn't run out of gas though.”

“Hmm, alright. Pop the hood and I’ll check it out?”

She started to question why he wanted to help her but then decided against it. He didn’t seem like a threat and was the closest thing to help she had.

She hit the button to unlock the hood and he went to the front and raised it.

Just as she had done, he used his phone to provide himself some light.

She couldn’t see what he was doing nor did she particularly want to join him.

She rubbed her hands over her arms again as she exhaled, hoping to give herself some warmth.

“Hang tight just a sec,” The man called out as he made his way back to his car.

She could hear him open and close his trunk and walk back towards the hood. He fumbled with some things from what her ears told her. She could also hear a few sighs of frustrations as well. Perhaps he didn’t have a clue what he was doing either.

She slipped the car keys into her purse and got out.

“Any luck?” She asked.

He straightened up from his leaned over position. As he looked down at her, she could make out his blue eyes and chiseled jaw with the light his phone provided.

At least he was a handsome stranger, she thought as she crossed her arms, awaiting his answer.

He seemed briefly stunned as he cleared his throat and averted his eyes. She wondered what that was about but didn’t ask.

“I’m not too great with cars.” He confessed with a slight smile. “I was hoping it was something minor and I could figure it out. It could be the battery but I don't know for sure.”

She sighed. That hadn’t been what she wanted to hear.

“Right,” She said with a tight nod.

“I can give you a lift somewhere though. It’s no trouble.”

The offer was tempting. She didn’t know how long she’d have to wait before Michael returned her call _if_ he did at all. Still she had her reservations; she didn’t know this man.

“It’ll probably be best If I wait. I wouldn’t want to just abandon my brother’s car.”

He nodded, shoving a hand into his pocket.

“I understand. I’d hate to just leave ya out here though. It’s late. It’s supposed to start raining again too.”

It had been raining off and on all day. She wasn’t thrilled about the idea of being stuck out in it.

She chewed her bottom lip thoughtfully. She doubted anyone would steal it. It’s not like it would start anyways.

“I think I’ve reconsidered.”

“Yeah? Where to?” He asked.

He seemed a bit too eager to help and that unnerved her just a tad. She didn’t trust people. It was hard for her to see the best in them.

“I live about twenty minutes away from here. Just let me grab my bag.”

Knowing she could take him or at least put up a pretty good fight comforted her. She opened the door to get her bag and then locked it back up.

Slowly she made her way back to him just as he closed the hood.

“I have a friend who’s a mechanic. He’s probably closed now but I could give him a call?”

“Would he happen to know a towing company that’d drop the car off on the house?” She asked halfheartedly.

He grinned slightly at her.

“Unfortunately, Howard doesn’t work for free, neither does any of his friends. Don’t worry about that though. The car’s unlocked.” He turned away as he dialed a number.

She shrugged her shoulder as she walked past him and went to let herself inside.

It was warm and the leather seats were rather comfy. She sighed contently as she placed her open palms in front of the vent blowing out the heat.

After a minute or so, the driver side door opened and he joined her.

“He’s out but he knows a guy. You’ll need to leave your keys and they’ll tow it for you.”

“But not for free?”

“It’s okay.” He said.

She looked at him skeptically as she removed the car key from her ring with the house key.

“If you say so.” She said under her breath as she passed it to him.

He left to put the key in the glove compartment and then walked back to his truck.

He buckled his seat belt and waited for Peggy to do the same.

“What’s your name?” She asked as he began to drive away.

“Steve, yours?”

“Peggy and thank you. You really didn’t have to go out of your way.”

“I like helping people when I can.” He shrugged. “Nice to meet you.”

“Likewise,” she replied as she looked out the window.

Slowly, the rain started to fall and she was grateful she had missed it.

“I hope you haven’t been out here long.”

“No, not terribly long, just a few minutes in fact before you came along.”

“Good, good.”

It didn’t take long before they started passing things again. She felt a little better, no longer thinking she was in the middle of nowhere.

“What’s the address?” He asked.

Her stomach growled rather loudly. She looked away, suddenly feeling embarrassed. She had left her lunch at home and couldn’t afford to buy a real meal. Luckily, she had just enough change to buy a small bag of chips out of the vending machine.

“Or if you’d like we could stop for a bite to eat first?”

“I should probably just get home. I don’t have the extra money for food.”

“It’s no problem.” Steve insisted.

He wasn’t going to just let her go on hungry but he didn’t want to come off as pushy either.

Peggy fell silent. She wasn’t used to people being so kind to her; she was starting to worry he might have some ulterior motive.

“I’m not sure what you’re thinking and while I do appreciate your help, I won’t sleep with you out of payment if that’s what you have in mind.” She blurted out before she could think it through.

Steve’s eyes widened in shock; His mouth practically fell open.  He worried he had given her the wrong impression.

“I---no. I wasn’t thinking anything like that. I’m sorry if I gave you the wrong idea.”

She cursed herself mentally. He sounded so sincere and she had gone and made an utter fool of herself. He could very well pull over and demand her to get out and if he did, she wouldn’t blame him.

“I am terribly sorry. I wasn’t thinking please forgive me.” She whispered as she looked out of the window to avoid looking in his direction.

He nodded his head and told her it was okay.

“We can just grab something and get back on the road. We don’t have to stay inside.”

He pulled into a small restaurant nearby and parked.

She unbuckled her seat belt and got out just as he was going around to open the door for her. He dropped his hand and stepped back out of her way.

She walked ahead of him, not wanting to be too close and risk saying or doing something else to embarrass herself.

With the better lighting, she could see him more clearly now. She could see his blonde hair peaking from under his cap and the slight stubble on his face. He looked even better now. Quickly, she looked back at the menu before he could catch her staring.

He had taken the opportunity to take a proper look at her as well. Her brown hair was pulled back into a low ponytail. Her full lips were coated in red lipstick and she had the prettiest brown eyes he had ever seen. Truthfully, he was taken back by her beauty, even in the dim light, when he first saw her.

She ordered medium fries and a coke. He went for a complete combo with a burger, fries and a soda. She thought it was very American of him.

Instead of going back out and making a run for it in the rain she said it was alright if they ate inside.

He nodded towards a booth in the back and she followed.

He removed his baseball cap and placed it beside him before picking up his burger and taking a bite.

She proceeded to dig into her fries, not bothering to be slow and delicate about it; She was starving.

He admired that as he watched her from the corner of his eyes. He hated when a girl tried to eat shyly in front of him, not that he had much experience with entertaining women anyway.

“Thank you,” She said when she was nearly finished.

To her surprise, he was polishing off the last of fries as well. He sure had an appetite.

“No problem.” He said kindheartedly.

He seemed like a genuinely decent guy, she thought as she sipped on her coke.

“Are you from around here?” She asked.

He nodded, “Brooklyn to be exact. Are you new here?”

“What gave it away?” She asked jokingly.

He just chuckled.

“I’m from London. My brother, Michael, came here and had been asking me to come ever since. To his delight, I gave in, although I’m starting to re-think my decision.”

“Ah, give it time. You’ll fall in love with New York in no time.” He said, giving her a wide smile.

“We shall see,” She replied, giving him an easy smile of her own.

They didn’t say much else after that. She gave him Michael’s address once they were back inside his truck. Thankfully, the rain had stopped by then.

“What were you doing out? I hope I’m not keeping you from anything important.” Peggy asked as she lowered the mirror and touched up her lipstick.

“I had a date actually.”

“Oh?” She said, surprised. “I take it didn’t last too long.”

“I was stood up. It’s no big deal.” He said dismissively.

Peggy wondered just what kind of girl would stand Steve up. He seemed nice enough even if he was a bit shy.

“Her loss I’m sure.” Peggy replied.

“I think the night turned out alright.”

“Yes. I suppose I’m glad your date didn’t work out. I’d probably still be on the side of the road had she showed up.” Peggy said with a laugh.

Steve laughed along too.

Before either of them knew it, he was parking in front of Michael’s loft.

The front light was off, Peggy noticed. Perhaps Michael wasn’t even home himself.

“I’ll need your number to give to Howard.” Steve said as he killed the engine.

“Oh, right,” Peggy gave him her cell number and he texted it to Howard.

“Don’t worry, I won’t save it.” He assured her. He didn’t want her getting the wrong idea again.

Suddenly, Peggy wanted him to have it too. She reached for her purse as her hand lingered on the door handle.

“It’s alright if you do.” She said, turning to meet his eyes.

He looked up from his phone, surprised. “Are you---are you sure?”

“Well perhaps we could have a proper dinner. One day…if you want.”

Peggy wasn’t usually nervous, yet suddenly she was feeling unsure of herself.

“Of course, I would.” He said almost immediately.

“Great,” She said, smiling and feeling glad she asked.

 “I’ll make sure Howard gets started on your car as soon as he can.”

“Thank you, Steve.”

She started to open the door and suddenly stopped.

“Steve?” 

“Yes Peggy?”

She leaned over and grabbed the front of his jacket, pulling him closer and pressing her lips to his.

“Thank you for everything. Have a good night.” She whispered once the kiss ended.

It took him a moment but he opened his eyes and nodded at her. Already missing the feel of her soft lips on his.  

“Sure thing. You have a good night too.”

She closed the door behind her and walked away without another glance back. She was afraid that if she did, she just might invite him in after all.

And she wasn’t that type of girl, not even for a handsome stranger with a kind heart.


End file.
